Big Cottages in Wales

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Michelle - Verified booking

  We were so excited to stay as we booked it while visiting Cemaes last year.

  The house is marketed as fog friendly, but it's not. The information provided by home owner said their dog slept in the basement and it was inferred our dogs should do the same- this should be detailed in your description as we felt it was misleading. The dogs weren't allowed on the furniture or upstairs but no staircases were provided. If you dont want dogs up stairs make it easy for us to achieve that. Throws were provided but not for use of dogs on sofas, sadly. The oak flooring marked really easily and we were paranoid about this, so didn't use the garden at the rear as there were drainage issues and lots of green 'algae' and water pooling. We felt the dogs couldn't use it as they may make dirty marls on the floor. Instead we ensured the dogs were toileted on a walk first thing and last thing.....they are able to access our garden at home constantly. The details stated a small welcome pack, couldn't find it....found a small jar of escape but not sure if that was welcome back.....it was confusing. There should be a welcome pack if it's detailed in info. If not remove it. The master bedroom bed was horrendous, my husband and I are used to memory foam, this bed kept us up all night as when one moved the mattress flipped the other up. Very uncomfortable. The house needs to be either dog proofed with stair gates and throws that dogs can sit on or updated and decorated and no dogs allowed. It's neither or at the mo. We love the location and amount of space we had but it wasn't relaxing for these reasons sadly.

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• Yamini - Verified booking

  First time, I booked a holiday cottage without reading other customer reviews.

  So when I got back home, I promised to write one, so that others can benefit. Purely based on property photos and description provided on the sykes website, I booked it. The cottage looks and feels 100% like the photos and description on the website. Lovely old slate cottage from the outside with traditional interiors inside. It was very clean, cosy, comfortable and very functional (modern). It is maintained to a very high standard and the owners have done a fantastic job of furnishing it and their attention to detail was amazing. You cannot beat the location, it is just behind the Porthmadog harbour, the heritage train station and walking (5 mins) distance to a number of pubs/eating places and the town center for super markets (Tesco, Aldi, Lidl). We reached the place in the middle of the night and got lost due to following the sat nav only. I suggest you follow the Sat nav instruction to a point, after that pls follow the instruction provided by the property owner, you would make it easily. We spent a week here and explored the North Wales and Snowdonia national park, drove to most places and spent the day outside, but we very much looked forward to coming back to the cosy cottage to spend our evenings in the warm lounge, rest in the cosy bed in the night and wake up to a hot power shower in the morning, We felt home away from home !!! I highly recommend this place for families visiting Wales.

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• Jake - Verified booking

  Old Barns is a beautiful building in a gorgeous setting.

  The house is large and spacious yet warm and cosy, thanks to the aga and open log fire as well as ample central heating. This was so lovely to come back to after exploring all the stunning scenery that Anglesey has to offer. The rear garden has great space for eating outdoors and there’s lots of grass for dogs (or kids) to run around. To the front there is a wooded area where we enjoyed watching rabbits and red squirrels, as well as access to the surrounding nature reserve (we found wellies a good idea for this track during our autumn stay). The kitchen has everything you could need to feed a family, and the towels and linens provided were very clean and soft. The decor is in keeping with the style of the property and on the whole works very well. The owner has achieved a really nice lived-in feel which is lacking in a lot of holiday lets. On that note, this isn’t a pristine, like-new property, so may not be suited to those with very demanding standards on cleaning/upkeep. If the odd dusty shelf or stained carpet is a no-no for you then this probably isn’t your cup of tea. Personally I would also advise the owner to replace the mattress I slept on (the double bed furthest from the kitchen) but I understand that mattresses are a very subjective thing and others may find it more comfortable. In any case, it certainly didn’t stop my enjoyment of the weekend at Old Barns.

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• Kathryn - Verified booking

  Just back from a week at The Headland.

  The weather wasn't kind as we had rain at some point every day. It meant having a comfortable base to chill really came into its own. The location is excellent with everything you could need within walking distance. From the main bedroom you can see the sea and the start of the local shops - an ice cream from Joe's is a must. There is a row of restaurants on the promenade, 5 minutes from the house. They are dog friendly. We ate at The Oysrer House, Croeso Lounge and Bistrot Pierre. Our personal favourite was the Croeso Lounge for lunch and dinner. I was disappointed to find the pier is closed but our dog loved the little beach there. It is also not possible to access the beach anywhere near the house as they are working on sea defences. There is a great deal of work and work men close to the house but as we were out all day it was not a problem. Just a shame the beach is out of bounds as all the beaches close by ban dogs until 30th September. I would recommend walking up to Oystermouth Castle where the volunteers are very welcoming. If you have a dog Mumbles Nature Reserve is also worth a visit. I was very impressed with the number and range of shops in Mumbles. I wish we had a flourishing High Street with so much to offer. The Headlands is a well appointed, comfortable base to explore the Gower and I would highly recommend it for couples, families and dogs!

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• Lisa - Verified booking

  Lovely property with great views of the beach and harbour.

  The balcony is a great addition. The property is very clean and tidy with nice beach decor. It's a comfortable size for a family stay. The layout of the property had us all fairly amused, all week we spent walking to the front to go upstairs. Resulting in lots of running in circles once remembering the stairs are the wrong way round. The views from the master bedroom are great, however the blinds are totally see through so you have no privacy. The main bathroom also has no window blind. The shower in the main bathroom has poor water pressure and just a rain drop shower head, takes a long time to rinse soap out of long hair. This in turn causes the entire bathroom floor to become a swimming pool. The games room is advertised as having a football table and a games console, they were not there, but we did use the pool table. I read other reviews before we arrived especially the comments about the creaking floors. I have to agree they were really bad. There was no way to walk around without making a noise. Overall we had a good holiday, would consider booking again.

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